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James Bond (Pierce Brosnan)
Commander James Bond is a Senior Operational Officer of the 'Double-O' ('00') Branch, an ultra-covert Black Ops unit within the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). As an agent of MI6, Bond holds code number "007". The 'double-O' prefix indicates his discretionary licence to kill in the performance of his duties. Irish actor Pierce Brosnan held the role from 1995 to 2004. He appeared in GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1998), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002). In addition he also provided his voice and likeness for several James Bond video games. Film biography Shared background Although very little of Bond's past is directly addressed in Pierce Brosnan's films, it is assumed that his Bond continues to share the common background laid out by the Ian Fleming novels and preceding Bond films. In the novels, James Bond is the son of a Scottish father, Andrew Bond of Glencoe, and a Swiss mother, Monique Delacroix, from the Canton de Vaud. He acquired a first-class command of the French and German languages during his early education, which he received entirely abroad. Both parents were tragically killed during a climbing accident in the French Alps which was revealed in GoldenEye. After the death of his parents, Bond goes to live with his aunt, Miss Charmian Bond, where he completes his early education. Later, he briefly attends Eton College at "12 or thereabouts", but is removed after two halves because of girl trouble with a maid. After being sent down from Eton, Bond was sent to Fettes College in Scotland, his father's school. After leaving Fettes, earlier EON films note that Bond studied at Cambridge University. There, he achieved a first in Oriental languages. In Fleming's novels, Bond alluded to briefly attending the University of Geneva (as did Fleming), before being taught to ski in Kitzbühel. Following his graduation, Bond joined the Ministry of Defence and became a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves, rising though the ranks to commander. Bond applied to M for a position within the "Secret Service", part of the Civil Service, and rose to the rank of principal officer. GoldenEye (1995) Tomorrow Never Dies (1998) The World Is Not Enough (1999) Die Another Day (2002) Behind the scenes Brosnan first met James Bond films producer Albert R. Broccoli on the sets of For Your Eyes Only because his first wife, Cassandra Harris, was in the film. Broccoli said, "if he can act… he's my guy" to inherit the role of Bond from Roger Moore. In 1982, Brosnan rose to popularity in the United States playing the title role in the NBC romantic detective series Remington Steele. The Washington Post noted that same year that Brosnan "could make it as a young James Bond." In 1986, NBC cancelled Remington Steele and Brosnan was offered the role of 007, but the publicity revived Remington Steele and Brosnan had to decline the role, owing to his contract. The producers instead hired Timothy Dalton for The Living Daylights (1987), and Licence to Kill (1989). Legal squabbles between the Bond producers and the studio over distribution rights resulted in the cancellation of a proposed third Dalton film in 1991 and put the series on a hiatus for several years. On 7 June 1994, Brosnan was announced as the fifth actor to play Bond. Brosnan was signed for a three-film Bond deal with the option of a fourth. The first, 1995's GoldenEye, grossed US $350 million worldwide, the fourth highest worldwide gross of any film in 1995, making it the most successful Bond film since Moonraker, adjusted for inflation. It holds an 80% Rotten tomato rating, while Metacritic holds it at 65%. In the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4, and said Brosnan's Bond was "somehow more sensitive, more vulnerable, more psychologically complete" than the previous ones, also commenting on Bond's "loss of innocence" since previous films. James Berardinelli described Brosnan as "a decided improvement over his immediate predecessor" with a "flair for wit to go along with his natural charm", but added that "fully one-quarter of Goldeneye is momentum-killing padding." Brosnan returned in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies and 1999's The World Is Not Enough, which were also successful. In 2002, Brosnan appeared for his fourth and final time as Bond in Die Another Day, receiving mixed reviews but was a success at the box office. Brosnan himself subsequently criticised many aspects of his fourth Bond movie. During the promotion, he mentioned that he would like to continue his role as James Bond: "I'd like to do another, sure. Connery did six. Six would be a number, then never come back." Shortly after the release of Die Another Day, the media began questioning whether or not Brosnan would reprise the role for a fifth time. Brosnan kept in mind that both fans and critics were unhappy with Roger Moore playing the role until he was 58, but he was receiving popular support from both critics and the franchise fanbase for a fifth installment. For this reason, he remained enthusiastic about reprising his role. Throughout 2004, it was rumoured that negotiations had broken down between Brosnan and the producers to make way for a new and younger actor. This was denied by MGM and Eon Productions. In July 2004, Brosnan announced that he was quitting the role, stating "Bond is another lifetime, behind me". In October 2004, Brosnan said he considered himself dismissed from the role. Although Brosnan had been rumoured frequently as still in the running to play 007, he had denied it several times, and in February 2005 he posted on his website that he was finished with the role. Daniel Craig took over the role on 14 October 2005. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Brosnan was asked what he thought of Daniel Craig as the new James Bond. He replied, "I'm looking forward to it like we're all looking forward to it. Daniel Craig is a great actor and he's going to do a fantastic job". He reaffirmed this support in an interview to the International Herald Tribune, stating that "Craig's on his way to becoming a memorable Bond." Video Games During his tenure on the James Bond films, Brosnan also took part in James Bond video games. In 2002, Brosnan's likeness was used as the face of Bond in the James Bond video game Nightfire (voiced by Maxwell Caulfield). In 2004, Brosnan starred in the Bond game Everything or Nothing, contracting for his likeness to be used as well as doing the voice-work for the character. This would be the first time a leading Bond actor would provide his voice for a video-game adaptation. It also proved to be the last time Pierce Brosnan would play the role, subsequently being replaced by actor Daniel Craig. Quotes Images JamesBondDieAnotherDayFakePassport.jpg|James Bond's fake passport from 2002's Die Another Day. JamesBondPierceBrosnanPassport.jpg|James Bond's actual passport. Trivia *In Die Another Day, Bond's fake passport gives him the alias Alex Smith, states that he was born in London, England, and gives him a birthdate of May 6, 1960. This would mean that he is trying to pass off as being 42 years old, when it is assumed that he is much older. However, his actual passport gives him a birthdate of November 10, 1953, which would make him 49 in Die Another Day. See also *The Literary Bond *Sean Connery *George Lazenby *Roger Moore *Timothy Dalton *Daniel Craig *Other Bonds References Category:Film characters Category:James Bonds Category:GoldenEye characters Category:Tomorrow Never Dies characters Category:The World Is Not Enough characters Category:Die Another Day characters